mvm.

The truth is madder than fiction: As the film reel lodges into place and the old-fashioned grainy slides with the countdown, Dave’s next film We’re All Alone In This Together rolls on with finesse and creativity that only Hitchcock would be acclimatised to.

We’re All Alone In This Together: Stoic in lyricist deliverance but poetically just and heartfelt in all nature of lyricism in music, British-Nigerian rapper Dave has brought his audience to a standstill with his second just as much as he did with his eponymous first.

When PSYCHODRAMA was released in 2019, we instantly knew that this mahogany storyteller wasn’t going to do things by halves.

When Dave performed his elegant Black at the Brit Awards in 2020, his humble beginnings foretold a worthy future and has since been revealed as one of the most recognised British rappers. With it, this brought about PSYCHODRAMA earning an accolade for Best British Album 2020.

His recognition just doesn’t come from irate blunders of sex and drugs like most other rappers we often enjoy, his recognition comes from something far more substantial than temporary sweet blessings.

Dave has been recognised for his socially conscious lyricism and hypnotic wordplay that draws up controversial conversations from social injustice, political correctness and ultimately, rejects the gleamed status within that of mainstream grime and rap, but rather slots firmly in his own music category with Google searches deriving from “Dave’s deepest bars.”

Although the intro piece of We’re All Alone doesn’t hit you as hard as it did on PSYCHODRAMA, the sentiment of the album is portrayed beautifully here, as it is within the 12-track film collective:

“We all took the wrong turns in different streets, we all cried the same tears on different cheeks”

Although possessing traditional rap among others, from Law of Attraction, Both Sides of a Smile to Twenty To One, Heart Attack and Survivor’s Guilt, Dave delivers hard-hitting lyrical brutalism often with moments of a-cappella and space to bring the point closer to home, where “Where All Alone In This Together” comes into its own. Stripped back for all to see, this album exposes societies’ troubles – especially as that for South London – for all us to see.

One moment throughout the album’s journey is 9-minute feature length scripture Heart Attack. Often perceived as a follow-up to Panic Attack way back in 2016, this is poetic brilliance at its best. I would seriously recommend to just sit and listen throughout this song and experience how it is meant to be listened: with respect and insight.

“Youts on the m6 all the time / we dont need TFL for a northern line / all the best politicians been taught to lie. Where do they buy cocaine when they’re snorting white? /Are their dealers safe or are they on the border line? Its ironic because we dont know where to draw the line / man see Blue’s story they’re mortified / man see scarface and its glorified / cause when you’re black everything gets scrutinised / thats why they call it urban it gets euphemised, south London / man are getting euthanised.“

With that, comes the deserved recognition from this album. Cast your mind to the Brit Awards 2022 that took place a few years. Still relevant as ever, Dave earns another award for best Hip Hop/Rap/Grime Act for 2022, and brings about a different nuance to his O2 performances for the Brit Awards …

A masterful designer, articulate with his wordplay and demonstrative in social change, Dave is in a league all on his own. The questions is, what’s next in store for 2022 and beyond?